Control Systems in Factorio

[black0441]

I just started playing Factorio this week, and this has to be the coolest game ever. I've worked in industrial automation for 15 years, and I never in a million years imagined that someone could make a factory simulation that was both so accurate and so fun.

This is my dream of how control networks could function in Factorio:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nvp ... sp=sharing

But as a PLC guy, I was disappointed by the difficulty of implementing an industrial scale control system. Factorio has what I would call a problem with "islands of automation", which is an industry term for a bunch of highly functional devices, that do not communicate well with each other.

What amazed me as I was playing was that because the rest of the game is so accurate, the islands of automation problem in Factorio can be solved exactly the same way we solve this in real factories: by building a plant-wide SCADA system.

I could see right away how to use this kind of control network to integrate into Factorio's existing systems, but I couldn't figure out how to explain it. So I wrote a sort walkthrough from the future, a description of what it would be like to configure a simple control network in Factorio, if they implemented my dream control system.

It's long, which I apologize for. It's broken up into two basic parts: first, a description of how it all works, and second a full walkthrough on how to set up and interact with a control network for an iron/coal mine operation.

This integrates into Factorio using the Module system, based off the tech tree. Nothing at all built breaks. It does not create any new game mechanics at the game engine level. There are no new items to be crafted other than the modules to put devices onto the control network. If you never research the tech, you never need to build the system, and you could play Factorio just as it is without losing anything. It's not a replacement for what's there: it interacts with Factorio's existing systems to enhance them without forcing any activity on anyone.

[ssilk]

Quite impressive and worth a read.

I need to say two things as moderator:
1. Please don't link suggestions to external sources. In this case: Can you export the text of the google-doc as text and the tables as graphics? You can upload up to 10 pics for an article. Cause as it is it can be worthless in a year.
2. Version 0.13 will change the behavior of the circuit network. The logistic network is then just a part of the circuits. See some of the latest FFFs about the circuit rework!
http://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-138

And my private sight:
That goes also about into a direction I see Factorio: Wide spreading of infomation. Less micromanagement. Devices in devices.

And today I played some hours "Human Resource Machine". That is an absolute cool game about learning programming. Really must have! I would love to have to develop complex computer logic with belts. Belts can be seen as input- and output buffers in computer logic. Inserters and chests as ALU and registers.

We need now just items, that represents digits and chars and furnaces, that can do operations on inserted stuff, like the "+"-furnace does "1+1" smelt to a "2".

Ok, goes a bit offtopic, sorry, I couldn't stop it. I played just too much "Human Resource Machine".